Traffic sign



June 23, 1936.

H. J. SMITH TRAFFIC m Filed June 5, 1935 HenryJ Smiih.

WMc C- Patented June 23, 1936 UNITED STATE My invention relates PATENTor ies.

to improvements in traffic signs and is particularly an improvement onthe devices disclosed in my Patent No. 1,907,158 and my pendingapplication filed January 30,

1935, Serial No. 4,146.

The primary object o to provide a traffic sign ed in the surface of aapproaching vehicles, s

lo a vehicle running over f the present invention is which is pivotallymountroadway, in the path of o as to be depressible by the direction ofmovement of the vehicle.

Afurther object of the invention is to provide a traffic sign capable ofbeing depressed by force or pressure applied thereto from either of twol5 directions having common means for returning the sign to its normalposition.

Another object of the invention is toprovide a device of theabove-mentioned character which is simple and du to manufacture.

rable in construction, re-

liable and efficient in operation, and inexpensive Other objects andadvantages will be apparent during the course of the followingdescription.

In the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification and inwhich like numerals are employed to designate the same,

7 Figure 1 is a top plan view of a traffic sign made in accordance withmy Figure 2 is a bottom invention, plan view of the same,

Figure 3 is a transverse section taken on the line 3--3 of Figure 1, and

Figure 4 is a longitudinal section taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 1.

In the drawing, wherein for the purpose of illustration I have shown apreferred embodiment of my invention, base plate having an the numeral 5denotes a opening 6 in the center thereof, in which a sign member I ismounted for vertical swinging movement. The sign st p or other suitablelegend having in the center thereof a reflecting button It forattracting attention to the sign in the night time. The

lower edge of the flat fa ly connected, as at H, l2, the oppositeedge'of ce 8 of the' sign is hingedto the edge of the plate the plate I2being hinged Y to thebottom of the base plate 5, at a remote distancefrom the edge of This double hinge support for the sign the opening 6,as at member, permits downward movement of the sign when force orpressure is applied to either of the faces 8 or 9. Se

cured to the underside of the same, regardless of the face 8, adjacentthe hinge H, are a pair 0 spaced ears I4, to which the. arms of the yokeH": are pivotally connected by pins IS. The yoke is formed integral withthe upper end of the depending lever ll, having a cross bar 18connected. to its lower end, to which the lower ends of the coil springsl9 and 29 are attached. The springs are attached to the opposite ends ofthe cross bar, the spring I9 being connected with the cross bar throughthe medium of a turnbuckle 10 .2! to permit adjustment of the tension ofthe spring. The springs extend upwardly from the ends of the cross barin diverging relation, towards the forward and rear ends of the baseplate 5, the upper end of the spring 19 being attached to the base plateby the eye bolt 22 beyond the hinge l3, and the upper end of' the spring29 is attached to the free end of the depending arcuate plate vZ3, as at24.

A cushioning device for retarding. the upward r1 movement of the signmember is carried by the underside of the face 9 and consists of a flatbar 25 yieldably connected to the face 9 by bolts 25 attached to theface 9 and extending through openings in the bar, there being springs 21mounted on the bolts which yieldably hold the bar against the face 9.The bar 25 extends below the lower edge of the face 9 and extending atright angles from the lower end of the bar is a bracket 28 in which isjournaled a roller 29 adapted to contact with the arcuate plate 23 whenthe sign member swings upwardly, after being depressed. A flange 30depends from the base plate 5 and surrounds the mechanism beneath theplate providing a housing for the same. The top of the base plate 5,forwardly and rearwardly of the opening 6, in which the sign memberoperates, has raised plates 3| and 32 which facilitate the passing ofthe vehicle wheel over the sign member.

In use, the sign is mounted in the surface of the roadway with the baseplate flush with the surface thereof. The sign member I is normallymaintained in a raised position by the tension of springs i9 and 29which exert an upward force on the lever i1- When in an upward positionthe sign member projects above the surface of the base plate 5 so thatthe legend thereon may be seen by the driver of the approaching vehicle.In the event the wheels of the vehicle contact with the face 8 of thesign member, the sign is swung on its hinge H in a downward direction,so as to permit the vehicle to pass thereover without injury to the signor annoyance to the occupants of the vehicle. Immediately upon passingof the vehicle, the sign member is returned to its normal position bythe action of the springs l9 and 20 and is retarded in its upwardmovement by contact of the roller 29, carried by the yieldable bar 25,with the arcuate plate 23 which cushions the return of the sign memberto its normal position. In the event that a vehicle after passing overthe sign finds it necessary to back-up or should a vehicle approach thesign in the opposite direction, the wheels of the vehicle upon contactwith the face 9 of the sign member will cause the member to swing onboth its hinges H and I3, so as to move downwardly out of the path ofthe wheels without injury to the sign. Thus, it will be seen that I haveprovided a depressible trafiic sign which is operable by movement ofvehicles in either direction along the roadway in which the sign isplaced.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herewith shown anddescribed is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and thatcertain changes in the shape, size, and arrangement of the parts may bemade without departing from the spirit of the invention or scope of thesubjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

.1. A traffic sign comprising a base plate having an opening therein, asign member normally disposed in said opening in an upright position, a

hinge plate pivotally connected at one end to the lower edge of saidsign member and at its opposite end to the bottom of said base plate,and yieldable means normally maintaining said sign member in an erectposition.

2. A traffic sign comprising a base plate having an opening therein, asign member having front and rear inclined faces normally disposed insaid opening in an upright position, a hinge plate pivotally connectedat one end to the lower edge of one face of said sign member, said hingeplate having its opposite end pivotally connected to the bottom of saidbase plate at a remote point from the edge of said opening, yieldablemeans normally maintaining said sign member erect, a cushioning baryieldably connected to the inner side of the other face of said signmember, a roller at the lower end of said bar, and an arcuate armdepending from said base plate disposed in the path of movement of saidroller.

3. A traflic sign comprising a base plate having an opening therein, asign member having front and rear inclined faces normally disposed insaid opening in an upright position and hinged to said base plate,yieldable means normally maintaining said sign member erect, acushioning bar yieldably connected to the inner side of one face of saidsign member, a roller on one end of said bar, and an arcuate armdepending from said base plate and disposed in the path of movement ofsaid roller.

4; A traffic sign comprising a base plate having an opening therein, asign member normally disposed in said opening in an upright position, ahinge plate pivotally connected at one end to the lower edge of saidsign member and at its opposite end to the bottom of said plate, a leverpivoted to and depending from said sign member, and springs connected tothe lower end of said lever and to said base plate at opposite sides ofsaid opening.

7 5. A trafiic signal comprising a base plate having an openingtherethrough, a sign member hingedly connected to the plate for verticalswinging movement, a lever depending from said sign member, a cross barattached to the lower end of said lever, and a pair of springs eachhaving one end attached to one end of said cross bar, said springs beinginclined upwardly and connected to said base plate at opposite sides ofsaid opening.

6. A traffic sign comprising a base plate having an opening therein, asign member positioned within said opening and hingedly connected tosaid plate and adapted to swing downwardly through said opening, a leverpivoted to and depending from said sign member, and springs connected tosaid lever and to the base plate at opposite sides of the opening fornormally maintaining said sign member in a raised position.

HENRY J. SMITH.

